SpectreVR is a title every old-school PC gamer should remember. The original game in the series, simply called Spectre, landed in 1991 and was one of the first computer games to offer an online multiplayer 3d environment. It first shipped on the Macintosh platform but later made it to DOS, Windows and even SNES. I have many fond memories of sneaking into the school computer lab and “hacking” an AppleIIgs with the principal’s password just to play this game. It was a pretty big deal back then since that was the only computer in the lab with a color-display (16 colors FTW!). Man, those were the days.

So seeing as how fond I was of the game, I decided to pick up a copy online. No, I don’t mean a bootleg copy. I buy the real stuff to support the industry. Anyway, I was able to find a copy online new-in-box for around $20. Not a bad deal, I thought it might be cool for collector’s value. And if I can find a brand new copy of a PC game from 15 years ago, well then there’s really no excuse to pirate. A few days later a package arrives. But when I open it I’m a bit surprised, this wasn’t the box art I remember. Not that crazy triangle shaped box I wanted, but a blast from the past never-the-less.

Unboxing images, video and rant below…

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Tags: Cyberpunk, Ramblings, Video Games, Virtual Reality by cybereality
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Novint aims to replace the mouse as the “weapon of choice” among shooter fans with their latest product. The Novint Falcon is a haptic controller for the PC, allowing players to experience games like never before. This isn’t like the “rumble” feature you find on many consoles, which is thrown in as an after-thought. The Falcon allows for real force-feedback, in any direction! It can also exert up to about 10 lbs. of force to say simulate the weight of an Ares Predator in your hand, or to fake the “g-forces” you would feel taking a tight turn in the latest aircraft from Versatran.

So imagine you are playing a first person shooter, say Crysis *maxed-out* at 120FPS, and then some enemies start shooting from behind. With the Falcon you can actually feel exactly what direction the shots are coming from. It will also give different levels of kickback when discharging various weapons. Similar to the effect you get on some old arcade gun games. With this idea in mind, Novint is now releasing a pistol grip for the Falcon, along with a sexy new black SKU. And if that wasn’t enough, they are packing it in with Valve’s Orange Box, quite possibily the best compilation of games ever released [outside of Hong Kong].

The new Falcon model goes for the modest price of $189.99 including the pistol grip and the Orange Box pack-in with full support for Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portal among other Source titles. If you consider that some force-feedback racing wheels sell for higher, the price of this controller is very reasonable. I’ll be getting one of these for sure, so check back for a full review. But my initial impression is that Novint may have a winner in their hands.

link: Novint Falcon Orange-Box Bundle w/ Pistol Grip [pre-order]

Tags: Hardware, Human Interface, Video Games, Virtual Reality by cybereality
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Once again it looks like the Koreans are getting the cool stuff first. I’m not sure how I missed this before, but Korean company Pavonine has a line of stereo 3d monitors called the Miracube. Models in the series range from a 19″ 4:3 aspect ratio to a somewhat not-so-monster-anymore 32″ widescreen HDTV at 1360 x 768 resolution. Most notably the C190S/X feature a parallax barrier based display similiar to the auto-3d laptops previously reported. This means no glasses are required for this model! The other models in the series are based on polarized light and require glasses, but should provide the superior picture. These versions come in 24″ widescreen for the G240S and 32″ widescreen for the G320S.

Unlike most other solutions, Pavonine has made it clear they plan to support multiple stereo 3d standards. Their 3D monitors are able to support input from a variety of source formats including “interlaced”, “frame-sequential”, “sub-field”, and “side-field”. I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard of those last two formats. It must be a Korean thing! Anyway, this is yet other company jumping into the S3D market, and it doesn’t look like the last. These monitors will be on display at the IVR (Industrial Virtual Reality Expo) next week in Toyko. Not that I will be making that expo, but if you’re there, please let me know if these sets are quality or not. Also, if anyone is feeling particularly saucy this afternoon, I found the G320S available for import right now at the amazingly low price of $4,650.

Link: Miracube: Product Site
Link: Miracube: USA [eBay Store]

Tags: Hardware, Stereo 3D, Virtual Reality by cybereality
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A paralyzed man, who hasn’t walked in over 30 years, has taken his first steps in decades within a virtual world. The 41 year old Japanese man can barely move his fingers due to a progressive muscle disease. However, researchers in Japan have conducted an experiment allowing the patient to control a computer program, in this case Second Life, using headgear that interfaces with the brain. The headset uses a series of electrodes to monitor the patient’s brain waves dealing with motor functions and translate that into on-screen actions. There was also an affixed microphone for chat functionality. Reportedly this was “the first time a paralysis patient has succeeded in meeting a person and having a conversation in an Internet virtual world”, which is really a touching story. Virtual worlds, even primitive ones like SL, could be a godsend for people suffering from mobility issues (sorry, I don’t know the proper nomenclature). Using brain interfaces can open up a wealth of possibilities for online socialization that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

This isn’t just the stuff of medical journals. Anybody today, with the requisite knowledge, can start experiments just like this at home. There are a number of EEG devices coming to the market, that would allow similar type of hands free control of computer applications or games. One that is available right now is the OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator and sells for around $160. EEG devices of the past were primarily for the medical community and would cost thousands of dollars. It is just in the past year we have seen consumer devices emerge. It is going to be very interesting to see what type of innovative things developers come up with using these newly available tools.

link: Paralysed man takes a walk in virtual world [Yahoo] // via Kotaku

Tags: Human Interface, Video Games, Virtual Reality by cybereality
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There has been a lot of buzz recently with a series of new stereo 3d displays hitting the market. Big companies like Samsung have even started integrating 3d technology into their mainstream product lines. However, all of the current consumer-level solutions require extra steps to get the 3d effect to work (such as wearing glasses, etc.). There are a few high-end sets available that don’t need glasses, like the Phillips WOW displays, but still require users to stand in a particular “hot-spot” for the effect to work. The guys over at Holografika have come up with another technology they call the HoloVizio. This type of 3d display can enable an unlimited amount of users to view a 3d image on the monitor all from different angles without the use of special glasses.

The HoloVizio line is nothing new. Its been around a few years, targeting mainly billboard-style advertisements (i.e. the big $$$). However, it appears the same team is now behind a new EU-funded research project called COHERENT based upon these holographic-style displays and gesture recognition technology.

“The aim of the COHERENT project was to create a new networked holographic audio-visual platform to support real-time collaborative 3-D interaction between geographically distributed teams,” explains Akos Demeter, spokesperson for the project.

This is something science-fiction writers have been talking about for ages, and it seems we are at a point where it may soon become a reality. There’s so much potential uses for this in the field of education, as well as teleconferencing, immersive gaming, hell, even online gambling! These guys were talking about medical applications and, um, “applying holographic systems for oil exploration”.

But like anything else in the VR realm, theres always a lot more talk than actual substance. But I think these guys have their stuff together. Although it doesn’t look like there any photos of this new system they are designing, I did find this pretty cool video for their latest display, the 120WLD. Can’t embed it, unfortunately, but you can click here to watch it on YouTube.

As you can see from the video, the device accurately displays different images when the camera pans from side to side. This is not using any sort of head-tracking “tricks” like in the Johnny Lee DesktopVR video. The 3d effect is a physical property of the way the image is displayed. So unlike head-tracking methods which work for only one person, this provides an experience for any number of viewers. No idea on price. Its not listed so surely its more than I can afford. But hopefully in about 5 or 10 years this stuff will be cheap enough for the mass market.

link: Star Trek-style 3-D displays make their debut [Physorg] // via: KurzweilAI

Tags: Hardware, Human Interface, Stereo 3D, Virtual Reality by cybereality
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John Nilsson has come up with a really great tool for immersion in PC gaming. He’s dubbed his creation the J-Dome and already has a patent on the design. Basically its a 180 degree hemisphere with back projection. I imagine it would be possible to combine this device with a 3d-ready DLP projector and get some active-stereo 3d action like IMAX 3D. A pretty simple concept thats been done, yet something that hasn’t been brought to market yet. There’s a similar product called the Z-Dome, which was shown at the GDC 08, but those guys want like $15k for it!

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Tags: Hardware, Video Games, Virtual Reality by cybereality
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Arcstream, makers of totally extravagant and innovative display solutions, recently demoed their “Living Image” installation. The setup, consisting of a 6,500 lumens projector pointed at the ground and an array of infrared sensors, allows multiple users to walk on top of and interact with the imagery displayed below. Similar setups have been shown at many conventions, this isn’t the first use of the concept, but its very well executed never-the-less. Video included after the break…

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Tags: Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality by cybereality
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An associate professor at the University of Houston has recently released a study showing the therapeutic applications of virtual reality for treating addictions. Participants included about 40 self-professed alcoholics who were not currently in treatment. Each person was hooked up to a custom VR rig consisting of a standard HMD (presumably with head-tracking and in stereo 3d) in addition to a vibrating chair and some sort of “smell-o-vision” device. This device can spray scents into the air, such as the smell of cigarette smoke or certain alcoholic beverages. What the professor, Patrick Bordnick, found was that patients addictions could be triggered by the virtual environment in such a way that the addicts could practice controlling their urges.

“What we found was that the VR environments were real enough that their cravings were intensified. So, now we can develop coping skills, practice them in those very realistic environments until those skills are working tools for them to use in real life,” Bordnick said.

An interesting angle on this research would to see how this effect could be used on the opposite side of the spectrum. For example, what if beer companies could advertise in say a Second Life bar? “Click here to get a six pack delivered in 30 minutes”! I believe Pizza-Hut did a similar promotion in WoW, so its definitely a possibility. Could big alcohol and tobacco companies use this to get people to stay hooked, or better yet, have they been doing this the whole time? I don’t know about you, but every time I’m watching a movie and an actor sparks up a cigarette, I almost always get the urge to light one up in tandem. Not to mention how this could affect government-sponsored “rehabilitation” if used in the wrong ways ala A Clockwork Orange.

link: Virtual World Therapeautic For Addicts [ScienceDaily]

Tags: Virtual Reality by cybereality
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Researchers at Microsoft are hard at work developing an arm-band that can recognize finger movements simply by monitoring muscle activity. Initial tests show the system with as high as 95% accuracy for all 10 fingers and can even register varying levels of pressure. The end result is a unobtrusive hands-free device that can mimic control of something like a data-glove. MS claims this technology can be far more accurate than other more established forms of gesture controls (such as computer vision based solutions).

This device might be useful in mobile applications, also in virtual or augmented reality environments, where a stationary keyboard and mouse setup fails miserably. I imagine using a band like this you could leverage your second hand to aid in typing text messages on a cell-phone, or even better, performing some clandestine wifi hack while sipping a latte in Starbucks looking incognito. Still, most of this experimental technology that Microsoft develops rarely makes it into an actual product. It will be interesting to see if this ever materializes.

link: High-tech armband puts your fingers in control [NewScientist]

Tags: Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality by cybereality
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This little demo from LM3Labs is really quite alluring. They’ve released a video showing a life-sized 3d avatar displayed on what looks like a specially treated sheet of glass and a back-projector. From what I can see, this isn’t a true “hologram” in the sense of the word since it would need to be viewable from any 3d angle. Even so, this is probably the closest to a “help me Obi-Wan Kenobi” moment I’m sure all you Star Wars geeks have been clamoring for.

The creators had this to say, something I can definitely dig:

We believe more in growing the digital world into the real life. This requires new types of display, like real size holography technologies, but also, and more importantly, different interaction methods. No more mice, trackpads, only free-air interactivity can accomodate this vision.

More and more I feel like it is the legacy of the archaic QWERTY keyboard, which was designed specifically to be the most inefficient layout, and the restrictive 2D mouse which are holding back true next-generation 3D computer interfaces. The ultimate computer interface would be that which was wetwired directly into the brain, but the next logical step would be free-form gesture recognition. This type of interactivity is completely feasible with current hardware. The new depth cameras coming out later this year will also aid to this field of development. 3D capable LCD displays are already a reality, the iz3D is on sale for $700 at NewEgg, the Zalman is only a little more. Exciting times, I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Click the link below to check out the video.

link: Embedding the Digital World into Real Life // via: Engadget

Tags: Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality by cybereality
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